Maple syrup production is a time-honored tradition in Minnesota. The state’s diverse forests offer ample opportunities for tapping into this sweet endeavor. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages vast tracts of public land, including state forests and state parks, where responsible maple syrup harvesting is permitted.
Maple Hill Sugarbush & Farm has operated for 25 years, producing maple syrup from sap gathered under a DNR-issued maple tapping permit near Grand Marais. Mark and Melinda Spinler, operators of Maple Hill, are local farmers who have produced maple syrup for forty years. Over the last 25 years, they have sold syrup at their sugar house, the local farmers market, and local retailers.
Part of their sugar bush is on the Spinler’s property, but most of their sap comes from an adjoining 10-acre maple stand on DNR-managed state land. The Spinlers were given a tapping lease by DNR officials in 1998 and told it could be renewed indefinitely. They have faithfully renewed the tapping permit each year.
With the assurance of renewable permits, the Spinlers invested their savings, bought commercial production equipment, built a sugar house, and installed a system to bring sap from the leased stand directly into storage tanks at the sugar house.
Last winter, the DNR informed the Spinlers that they could no longer lease the maple stand that was a crucial part of their farm income. The DNR had awarded a logging contract for the parcel. DNR has given the Spinlers until December 2024 to remove all the gathering systems they installed and maintained over the past 25 years.
The new DNR policy only allows annual permits with taps and collection equipment set up each winter and taken down each spring. This is not a practical option for the Spinlers’ small operation. According to the Spinlers, even with help from friends who volunteer to help, establishing the necessary system each winter in the current stand and then removing it each spring is impossible.
Notably, the Mn DNR Forestry Division hadn’t directly contacted the Spinlers since their maple tapping lease was started 25 years ago. The Spinlers were unaware of the rule change and the timber sale that would effectively put them out of business.
The Spinlers are beloved members of the Cook County community. They are local farmers and former bike shop owners who also operate a chimney cleaning service. Their syrup-producing operation provides them with a significant source of income.
The Spinler’s 15-acre sugarbush (ten of which is on DNR land) is ideal for a maple tapping operation having mature maples, a natural grade leading to their homestead located a 1⁄4 mile away, and no other designated use by the state. It’s a remote stand entirely out of the public eye and rarely sees people other than the Spinlers and their friends, who help them tap the maples each spring.
The Spinlers have written, “Minnesota prides itself on local production of natural foods, and the state should allow us to continue providing locally produced maple syrup for our community.” For more information, contact Mark and Melinda at maple@boreal.org or call or text 218-370- 9497.
